Up In Flames
by Swagiana Grande
Summary: "Fire. You'd always loved it. The fact that one teeny tiny little spark could light up a whole room within seconds captivated you. Cat Valentine was like that little spark." / When a fire breaks out at Nozu, Robbie has to choose between saving Cat, the love of his life, or Rex, his best friend since he was just a kid. Only one will make it out alive. / Cabbie two-shot. :D R&R! xoxo
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hey guys! This is just a little two-shot I thought up a couple days ago.. :) Hope you all like it and review if you please! xoxo**

Fire. You'd always loved it. Not to say that you were a pyromaniac or anything, just there was something about the way that the flames danced every time a gust of wind passed through that fascinated you. The blinding brightness of each individual spark intrigued you. And the fact that that one teeny tiny little ember could cause a whole room to be lit up within seconds captivated you. It was a mystery to you how such a small, seemingly insignificant little flicker of light could spread so quickly.

Cat Valentine was like that little spark. When she first came to Hollywood Arts, nobody really thought much of her. Even the fact that she had bright red hair wasn't quite enough to interest the other students. It was a performing arts school. Everyone was quirky. She was just another girl attending the school in hopes of accomplishing her dream of becoming a professional singer. But as people got to know her, they realized that she was so much more than that.

Her smile was infectious. Her laughter was contagious. Whenever she sang, her voice cast a spell over you, and you just couldn't help but listen. Everybody loved Cat. But especially you.

It didn't take very long for you to realize that you had a crush on the perky redhead. Or for you to admit to her that you liked her as more than a friend. But to your disappointment (and embarrassment), she simply didn't feel the same way. "I'm really sorry, Robbie…" she had whispered sadly when she realized how heartbroken you were. But you had said that it was okay, and that you would get over it eventually, and then had promised to still be her friend. Too bad you still loved her just as much as you did before, if not even more.

But of course Cat didn't know that. It was highly evident that as far as she was concerned, the two of you were no more than best friends. That's why the two of you (three if you included Rex, which you did) were here, at Nozu, eating lunch and talking about your plans for the remainder of the weekend.

"Have you heard about that new horror movie with the girl from The Thirsty Games? Home at the Beginning of the Road?" you asked her.

The petite girl sitting next to you nodded her head quickly, a small smile on her face. "It looks really scary though..." she muttered sheepishly.

You let out a slight chuckle, and then a light bulb went off in your head. "Well, would you like to come see it with me tomorrow? You can hold my hand if you get too scared," you suggested hopefully.

A small smile broke through her previously worried facial expression. "That would be nice," she finally responded, lips forming into a toothy grin.

"Well played, Rob!" Rex applauded teasingly.

You were about to scold him, when Mrs. Lee appeared. "Is there anything else I can get for the lovely young couple?" she asked, looking towards you. At the last part, Cat's eyes doubled in size, and she half-gagged/half-giggled at the Asian woman's comment.

"We're…we're not dating," you corrected her quickly, even though on the inside, you didn't want to say anything.

"HA! Are you kidding!?" Rex threw in. "She's way outta this loser's league!"

Mrs. Lee seemed taken aback over the fact that a puppet was mocking his owner. She awkwardly handed you the check, then scurried off to the kitchen, probably to see how the squid-chopping was going.

After she left, Cat didn't seem in a very talkative mood, so you excused yourself to the restroom, taking Rex with you. Luckily there was no one in there, because you were about to have a very stern talk with your puppet. "Rex," you began firmly. "I am sick and tired of you talking badly about me. Your teasing is absolutely disrespectful and uncalled for, especially when it involves Cat." Rex just stared back at you, his facial expression blank. Rude!

You quickly realized that nothing you said would be able to get through to him, so you gave up, setting him on the floor as you went to wash your hands. You hadn't even gone to the bathroom. You hadn't needed to. Your hands were just messy from the sushi, and your mom had once told you when you were little that no girls liked guys who didn't wash their hands.

_Is it getting hotter in here?_ you thought to yourself. But you shrugged it off. You had probably just gotten overly worked up when yelling at Rex.

Your thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a high-pitched scream coming from outside of the bathroom. _Cat's scream._ You immediately sprinted to the doors, hurriedly drying your hands on your jeans, heart beating a mile a minute.

You flung open the metal door to reveal flames. Everywhere. The whole restaurant was covered in shades of red, orange, and yellow. "CAT!" you yelled frantically, trying your best to dodge the blazes, but failing miserably. All of your limbs were in excruciating pain, sweat was quickly forming on your forehead, and you were already choking on the thick, black smoke. "CAT!" you called for your friend again, panicking even more when you didn't receive an answer. What if she was already dead? _Don't think like that!_ you internally screamed at yourself, even though you were almost sure it was true. Who could possibly survive in a fire as big as this?

Then you remembered… Rex was still in the bathroom! Who were you supposed to save!?

**A/N Dun dun duuuun. Lol. So who do you think Robbie will choose to save? I'm sure it's kinda obvious, but I feel like this would've been a really hard choice for Robbie, considering that he loves both of them very much. Leave a review telling me what you think will happen. :) xoxo**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N It's hereeee! The next (and also last) chapter of this is up. :) Please review and tell me if you liked the story or not. xoxo**

You didn't have much time to ponder this question before you made your decision. The flames would close in on you any second now, and time was quickly slipping away. Even if you acted swiftly, there was no guarantee that your loved one would be alive by the time that you were able to carry him or her out of the burning building.

But nevertheless, you were determined to save the most precious person in your life. So turning in the direction of the men's restroom, you took one last look at your best friend since you were just a child (who was now nothing more than a few neon flames and a couple piles of ash), and waved goodbye as a single tear rolled down your cheek.

Then you proceeded in the direction of the bar where you and Cat had been eating lunch peacefully just minutes ago. _Oh God, please let her be alive,_ you silently prayed, although you were bracing yourself for the worst.

After being burned a countless number of times, inhaling enough smoke to pretty much breathe fire, and tripping over a bar stool that someone had probably knocked over in their rush to escape the flames, you found her. Or at least, you were pretty sure that it was her.

Her once-bright-yellow sundress was literally on fire, and had streaks of black all over it, most likely the result of the wooden countertop's ashes falling onto her. Her flawless tan skin was now the home of many burns and scars which were scattered all across her body. And perhaps the most shocking sight to take in were the charred tips of her beautiful red hair, which was now at least four inches shorter than it used to be.

But time was of the essence, and your observing had to be cut short. So you scooped up your little angel, hoping more than anything that her unconsciousness was simply a sign that she wasn't feeling any of the pain; nothing more. If she were to die, you didn't know what you would do with yourself.

You barely made it three inches before encountering a problem. Both of the exits were blocked by seven-foot-high flames, and you certainly weren't going to head into the kitchen, which was obviously the source of the inferno. "Shit," you thought out loud.

You glanced around the restaurant in hopes of finding another way out, when a shiny, metallic object that remained unscathed by the flames caught your eye. Upon closer examination, you realized that it was a fire extinguisher! If you could just make it to the wall and grab a hold of it, you might be able to fight your way through the flames, saving both yours and Cat's lives.

The 30-second journey to the object that would rescue you felt more like 30 hours, and each step grew more and more painful, on top of the fact that Cat, who only weighed 90-some pounds, seemed to become heavier and heavier the longer you carried her. But you had to keep going. _For her._

Battling off one last blaze, you were finally able to come in contact with the extinguisher, and you had never felt so relieved in your life. It took you a few seconds to twist the knob and get it to work, but soon the flames around you were dying down, and you were able to create a path through the burning sushi restaurant.

As you kicked down the door, still clutching Cat tightly in your arms, the siren of a fire truck sounded in the distance. _It's about fucking time!_ you screamed internally. But on the outside you remained quiet. You were too weak and too overwhelmed to speak. The last thing that you remembered before passing out was seeing Cat's beautiful eyes flutter open ever so slightly, and hearing her groan your name.

* * *

You woke up to white. White bed, white pillows, white curtains, white everything. Considering that you had been in a state of darkness for the past few days, it was enough to blind you. "Am I in heaven…?" you groggily muttered. But once you became aware of the searing pain in both of your arms and one of your legs, you realized just how absurd that theory was.

Suddenly the curtain was flung open, revealing a large man in a white (shocker) coat. When he looked up from his papers and noticed that you were awake, he smiled. "Robbie Shapiro?" he questioned with a grin. You just nodded unsurely, confused.

"You've been knocked out for the past four days," he said matter-of-factly, as if it was no big deal. "It's good to see you awake," he added, smiling.

_God, he smiles a lot,_ you thought to yourself. Wait… Smiles… That reminded you of… "Where's Cat!?" you shouted, jerking straight up in your hospital bed, but instantly regretting it when the pain in your leg became practically unbearable, causing you to wince.

"Easy there," the doctor cautioned. Once you slumped back into your pillow, he continued. "Your friend Cat Valentine was in a coma just like you, but she woke up yesterday afternoon." You glanced at the clock; 8:12 in the morning. "She suffered from second and third degree burns all over her body. I'm sure she doesn't look quite the same as she did before the fire, but with a few months of treatment, she should be back to normal, with the exception of a few scars." You breathed the deepest sigh of relief that you ever had in your life. "You saved her life, Robbie," the man who sat next to you said sincerely. He stared at you for a few moments, allowing you to contemplate his words, then slowly got up and exited the room.

_You saved her life._ The words rang in your ears. _YOU, wimpy little Robbie Shapiro, saved Caterina Valentine's LIFE._ A smile quickly found its way across your face, and for a minute, all that you could think about was how much you wanted to hold Cat in your arms again, just to reassure you that she really was alive and would be okay eventually.

* * *

A week after you woke up for the first time after the accident, you were allowed to go to Cat's room to visit her. The doctor had been right. She didn't look quite the same. But in your opinion, she was still the most gorgeous girl you had ever had the privilege to lay your eyes upon.

The little redhead was just as peppy as ever, despite her conditions, and had even thought of surprising you with a new puppet in place of Rex (to this day, you didn't think that she realized how much that had meant to you). She had also given you a grateful kiss on the cheek.

The next day, the nurses were kind enough to move her hospital bed into your room, which made the overnight stays not-so-bad. It was nice to have someone to talk to, but the fact that it was Cat made it even better.

That evening, she thanked you for the millionth time for not leaving her behind, and this time was even brave enough to kiss you on the lips. Her courage left you both in shock for a few minutes, until you finally were able to find some words. "I love you Cat," you whispered hesitantly, afraid of what her reaction would be. But when she leaned in for another kiss, anything that had been holding you back before was now gone. "I love you too…" she murmured, a smile on her face.

And looking back on it, you were thankful that that fire had happened. All of the pain and suffering had been worth it. Because if it hadn't, you never would've become so close to the young woman who you now had the honor of calling your girlfriend. You'd never cared for someone more than you did for Cat. I guess you could say that your love for her was, well, on fire.

**A/N Mehhhh. Other than that last line, I don't like this chapter. At all. :P Oh well. I guess this is what happens when I try to watch Glozell videos and write stories at the same time. xP But i dunno, maybe some of you liked it. Did it end how you thought it would? Please tell me all about it in a review. :) Have a happy day, guys! xoxo**


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